Alpha and Omega
by STARCRUSHER99
Summary: All it takes is changing one person's past to change the fate of all of Remnant. When Jaune is given the chance to leave the past behind and attend Beacon, he accepts without question. But when his past comes back to haunt him, and gets his friends get involved, will he be able to be the White Knight he needs to be?
1. A New Life Begins

**Bold** = Thinking

 _Italics_ = Flashback/Dream

* * *

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I HAVE TO MEET PEOPLE?!"

To anyone else, Jaune's outburst would have made them run the other direction. Ozpin wasn't anyone else however. He was used to his outbursts about meeting people at this point.

"Jaune, these people are going to be your classmates for the next four years. You get along with the students here well enough, especially team CFVY, so I don't see why you can't meet new people."

"You know damn well why I can't meet people!" **Here it goes.** "It took three months to trust Weiss. Three months! And you had to literally force me to talk to CFVY for two more months before I trusted them, so stop making it sound easy!"

"And the musicians? You trust them enough. Why not others?"

"Because I'm not giving them a job, Oz! You tend to trust someone when they give you a whole career!"

"Jaune." Ozpin put his coffee mug down at this point, which made Jaune immediately stop talking. Ozpin putting down the mug was his version of a judge smacking a gavel. "I completely understand why you don't give your trust out easily. If I was you, I would have just as many trust issues. But the fact is you're going to have to meet them either sooner or later, so why not get a head start? You're not guaranteed to have Weiss on your team after all."

That alone was enough to make Jaune pale. The thought had obviously crossed his mind a lot in the past year, but that didn't mean that the prospect was any less scary. Ozpin had sworn that he wasn't going to rig the initiation any different then he did last year, so partners were pretty much random, which gave him a very, very, VERY small chance at getting Weiss. Ozpin was right, yet again.

Jaune let out a long, and admittedly overly dramatic, sigh before wordlessly turning around and entering the elevator. He'd learned very early on: Ozpin always got the last word in these kinds of conversations, so talking past a certain point is like talking to air. Didn't mean he couldn't take out his anger by punching the wall in the elevator, though.

 **Why does he have to be right this time of all times?**

After passing by Ms. Goodwitch in the secretary's office, giving her a simple nod which she returned, he started going through a mental checklist of everything he was wearing, making sure it was up to his code.

 **Hoodie and black track pants combo? Check.**

 **Arm guards? Check.**

 **White beanie? Check.**

 **Crocea Mors? His thoughts stopped for a second, just like they always did when he looked at the sword. Check.**

 **Rollerskates?... as if those are going anywhere.**

If there was one thing Jaune was proud of, it was his skating. He had been skating literally nonstop for the past five years, and had managed to completely perfect it. Of course, the situation was thrown on him against his will, but hey, you work with what you're given. And with his skating, combined with the ridiculous training Ozpin and Weiss put him through, came his unmatched parkour skills. He could safely say that he could go from one end of Vale to the other without ever touching the ground, only rooftops.

So it was a surprise to everyone that knew him that the usually confident Jaune, instead of skating around like he'd been born to do it, was simply walking down the hallway, shrinking in on himself with one hand holding his other arm. They all realized the situation quickly enough, though, and decided to not comment. Even Team CFVY, who all gave him encouraging gestures, knew not to get involved.

After what felt like a decade of self reflection and making sure the arm guards were positioned properly, he finally made it to the airdocks.

He did not expect an explosion of all things to happen so soon.

About 500 feet away, Jaune watched as a girl in red and black was getting scolded by a girl in all white. It didn't take long for Jaune to recognize both of them.

 **Ruby and Weiss meeting immediately. What are the odds?**

While slowly walking towards them, hoping to catch Ruby before she left, he noticed a girl in all black walking towards them. The small feeling of recognition quickly caused a "vision", as he called it, but Jaune punched himself in the face to stop that from going any further. To anyone who knew him, his PTSD was acting up again and they knew to stay away.

Of course, not everyone knew him, and someone else decided that him punching himself made it okay to punch as well.

Jaune, still caught in his memory and acting on reflex, let the punch's momentum bring him to his hands, performing a bicycle kick into the offender's jawbone in the process. The opponent was launched into the air, before used his hands to flip himself around and slam his feet down on bis chest.

Jaune looked down to see that he was standing over a boy his age, a first year, with burnt orange hair, a lot more armor than should be necessary, and, despite the fact that he'd just gotten taken down completely in two moves, an arrogant smirk on his face.

 **Already I have someone who wants to hurt me. Yay.**

He didn't even listen to what the boy had to say, simply getting off his chest, mumbling a "s-s-sorry" and skating away. Not given the proper amount of time to contemplate the girl in black, he let her leave his mind.

Looking back to the courtyard, he saw that Ruby was the only one still there, and he watched as she collapsed to the ground in obvious sadness. He was close enough to hear her say "welcome to Beacon". He locked his wheels, rolled to cease his momentum, and walked over to one of the only people he knew of his class. While still looking like he wanted to collapse from all the attention, he held his hand to her.

"Having some trouble there, Ruby?"

Ruby looked up, and her eyes widened in recognition. She grabbed his hand to allow him to pull her up, immediately pulled him into a massive hug, and started talking at speeds matched only by her semblance.

"Hi, Jaune! Are you lost too? Have you met anyone else yet? Have you had to deal with that ice girl?"

As much as Jaune wanted to answer the questions, his mind had pretty much frozen when she hugged him. Not because of hugs, no, he liked hugs, the issue was the suddenness of it. Saying Jaune wasn't a fan of sudden things was a huge understatement; if it weren't for Ruby's iron grip, he probably would've judo thrown her out of reflex.

Although he did find it funny that Weiss was "that ice girl" in Ruby's mind.

"Ruby", he breathed out, "no hugs." When he said that, she immediately let go. If Jaune was looking at her, he would've seen her red face.

"S-sorry Jaune. I didn't know you don't like hugs." He looked back up at that.

"No, it's okay, I like hugs, just give me a warning when you want to hug, okay? Not out of the blue like that." And with that, they started walking.

Even though there was nothing wrong (in Jaune's eyes at least), the walk was still awkward. Ruby was not a fan of awkward; after all, how are you supposed to become friends with someone through silence? She knew exactly what to do to diffuse the awkwardness:

"So, I've got this thing."

Crescent Rose deployed and slammed a hole into the ground. Jaune, having known that that was probably going to happen, was able to contain his fear.

"I remember. A scythe combined with a sniper rifle. One of the most dangerous weapons ever created."

"Yep! I may have gone a bit overboard with designing it, but I don't care. I wouldn't have my sweetheart any other way." Ruby, at that point, had started cradling her weapon like a baby, and if Jaune had more confidence in that moment he would've openly expressed how creepy it was. "So, what's your weapon?"

Jaune unsheathed his sword and extended the shield. "nothing special. Just this sword and the sheathe becomes a shield. They're just hand-me-downs though. I didn't make them. My arm guard is what I'm really proud of." He triggered the mechanism on his left arm guard, and it extended into...

"A guitar?!" Yes, the guard he wore on his left arm could transform into an electric guitar.

"Not a weapon in i-its own right, but could be if needed." He was extremely proud of himself when he managed to build it. And he still felt proud every time it mecha-shifted... except for this time, since Ruby was just laughing instead. "What's so funny?"

Ruby flinched a little at the defeated tone, but recovered. "It's just... why pink?" She would've been admiring the craftsmanship, hell she was anyway, but the fact that it was a nice dark shade of pink made the urge to laugh go too high. In his defense, though, the arm guard was the same shade of pink, so she really shouldn't have been surprised.

"It's a long story, but I didn't just pick it. There's a reason."

Again, Ruby could tell she'd struck a nerve, so she mumbled another apology and focused on walking. Then, another idea hit her. "What about your skates?"

He immediately looked down and almost breathed a sigh of belief. "What do you mean?"

"Well, they're made of metal, so I assumed that you built them. Am I wrong?"

"No" **Lie** "but there's nothing really special about them either. There's only two things that make them different from other skates. There's a mechanism on my kneecaps that can lock or unlock the wheels." He demonstrated by smacking his kneecaps, making the wheels roll as they were walking. Ruby kicked herself for not noticing they weren't moving before. She also noticed that he started spinning in a circle, which led to his next thing: "The wheels are also omnidirectional, so I can go in any direction. I call them Alpha and Omega."

"Whoa, that cool!" It was then that she noticed something wrong. "Hey Jaune, do you know where we're going?"

* * *

"Hey Rubes. You make a friend?"

"Yup! Well, not really, since I already knew him but it still counts!"

If Jaune had his choice, he wouldn't be here right now. He'd be in Ozpin's office, or CFVY's dorm, really anywhere but where he is, with Ruby all but forcing him to talk to Yang in the auditorium (in reality, she'd asked politely and he'd been too scared to deny).

 **Crowds. Crowds. Not a fan of crowds.**

It didn't help that he could feel that he was being watched.

"You knew him? How?"

 **If I'm going to talk, might as well be now.** "T-there's not that m-much of a story." He cursed his stutter, but told the story anyway.

" _You want to come to my school?"_

 _"More then anything. But I don't get what's so special about me. I don't want any special treatment."_

 _Ozpin only smiled. "Well, you're not the only one coming to Beacon through a... unique method."_

 _Ruby's happiness was replaced by confusion. Why did Ozpin have to be so cryptic? "What do you mean?"_

 _"He m-means me."_

 _How Ruby didn't notice the oddly dressed blonde teenager in the doorway was a mystery, although she didn't feel as bad when Goodwitch jumped in shock as well. "I g-got invited to c-come as well."_

 _"Ruby, this is Jaune." Jaune gave Ruby a small wave. It was obvious to her that he was nervous of her based on the fact that he was looking at the ground. "He's like you: an aspiring hunter hoping for an opportunity at Beacon. I'm giving you the same chance I gave him: attend my school, no strings attached. You won't be alone in this endeavor. What do you think?"_

 _"What do I think?! I'd love to!"_

"And now we're here."

Yang took the story in stride, which was definitely lucky for Jaune, whether he knew it or not, cause Yang had immediately wanted to punch him to protect Ruby's innocence when she said she knew him. However, before she could think about Jaune anymore, Ruby launched herself at her screaming about something involving "an ice girl" and "exploding".

"How could you leave me?!"

"Ruby, you know I had to if you had any hope of breaking out of your shell. You need to get away from me more, make other friends like skater boy here." Jaune, while at first confused by (and a little scared of) the nickname, seemed to accept it and nodded.

"Well all I ended up doing was exploding in the courtyard."

"Yikes, meltdown already?"

"N-no, she meant l-literally." They both looked at him, Yang in disbelief and Ruby in thankfulness. Unfortunately, as a result, they didn't see Weiss coming up behind them.

"YOU!" That was all it took for Ruby to scream and jump into Yang's arms. "You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!"

"Oh my God, you really exploded." Weiss looked past the sisters and noticed Jaune standing there. Making eye contact was all it took for Jaune to smile his first genuine smile all day, but he remembered to not address her before looking back to the floor. **Remember the deal, Jaune. Not yet.** In the brief moment Weiss was distracted, Ruby had gotten out of Yang's arms and was standing in front of her.

"I'm sorry Weiss. I didn't mean to trip over your stuff or to blow you up, honest. Can we be friends?" To everyone else, Weiss looked absolutely livid at that request. However, Jaune knew her well enough to realize the actual emotion she had.

It was shame for what she was about to do.

"You want to be friends?"

Ruby perked up immediately. "Yeah, we can go shopping for school supplies or something." Weiss put on her "bitch face" (as Jaune called it) before talking back.

"Oh sure! We can go shopping, paint our nails, and talk about cute boys like tall, blonde, and scraggly over there." Weiss looked at him, and when she noticed the sisters were looking there as well, she smiled at him before putting bitch face back on.

"H-hey. I'm a n-natural blonde." The last part was a mumble, so only Yang could hear him. It was enough to make her laugh, though. Just then, they all felt a shift in tone, and looking up revealed that Professor Ozpin had taken the stage.

"I'll keep this brief."


	2. The First Night

All of the first years packed into a single room was truly a unique sight. The ballroom was clearly meant to hold more then just the 160 kids that were there, but with the space needed for everyone's things the place was packed to the brim. Ruby, Yang, and Jaune had managed to snag a good spot in the corner before everyone else had gotten there, so now the sisters were just waiting for Jaune to come back from changing.

"It's like a big slumber party!" **Of course that's how she takes it.** Ruby stopped her writing to talk to Yang; as much as she wanted to write to her friends, a distraction was welcome.

"I don't think dad would approve of all the boys though."

Yang got a strange look in her eyes. "I know I do." She started purring, but that stopped when the door opened, where her eyes widened and her jaw dropped to the floor. "Damn Ruby, you know how to pick em."

Ruby looked at the door, and her jaw dropped as well, before she became a shade of red darker then her cloak. Judging by the way conversation on this half of the room stopped completely, just from Jaune walking in the room, the girls were mostly in agreement.

First off, Jaune entered the room by kicking the door down, which earned him a point with a nearby energetic ginger, then started skating to the corner. Now, normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but he was going around all of the first years, including making a flawless recovery from someone tripping him that somehow involved a backflip, while listening to music with noise canceling headphones, with his eyes closed. But that wasn't got everyone's attention.

Jaune, still in his beanie, was wearing a black skin tight short sleeve shirt, which showed all of his almost perfect 8 pack muscles. Combined with his black track pants and his arms, which were the perfect balance of between ripped and scrawny, he was quite the eye candy. He remained perfectly oblivious to the girls looking at him with hunger, while the boys, minus the guy next to the ginger sleeping soundly, were looking at him with jealousy.

After perfectly navigating through the first years, eyes closed the whole time, he slammed himself onto his sleeping bag, still unaware of the looks, and continued nodding his head to the music as though he did nothing out of the ordinary. After a few seconds, though, the song finished, and by then everyone except for Ruby and Yang had stopped staring and continued what they were doing.

"Uh, why are you staring at me?" That broke Ruby and Yang out of their trance before Yang stood up and moved to Jaune's left. Jaune's confusion soared through the roof when Yang grabbed his arm and started pushing her sizable chest on his arm.

"Skater boy, why'd you hide those muscles? I thought you were scraggly, but now I'm seeing how much us blondes need to stick together." Normally, when she did this, the guy would start blushing, get flustered, and do anything they could to keep the "chance" with her that they supposedly had.

No one, except for Weiss, expected what would happen next.

He jumped up, knocking Yang on her butt in the process, and got into a fighting stance, looking terrified for his life. With the attention of the entire room, he moved to kick her while she was down, but stopped just before it connected with an even bigger look of horror at what he was doing. With both Ruby and Yang looking at him in fear, he lowered his foot and sat back down.

"S-sorry about that. Just, I have a bad experience with being hit on. Trust me when I say that there's a good reason." The amount of seriousness in his voice, combined with the sadness in his eyes, was surprising to both of them, but considering what he was about to do, they both nodded.

Suddenly, looking at a black haired girl in the corner, Yang got an idea to break the awkward silence. "Hey Jaune, do you happen to be socially awkward?"

Jaune internally cringed, but kept his cool. "You could say that."

"Well, Ruby here is too, in case you couldn't see that." While she was talking, she got up and sat back down in between Ruby and Jaune before hooking an arm around both of theirs. "So, let's go help you socially awkward messes make a friend!" She then got up and yanked them along, one of them on each arm, despite their (admittedly amused) attempts to get her to let go.

However, when Jaune realized they were walking towards the black haired girl from earlier, he got his "vision" again: this time, he was too late to stop it.

* * *

 _The forest truly was picturesque. Trees surrounded him everywhere he went, the path long forgotten in favor of stealth. Birds could be heard chirping alongside the buzzing of the various insects in the area. The recent rainstorm left droplets falling on him. And yet, despite the beauty of the area around him, the night in the forest was anything but peaceful._

 _The fifteen year old wasn't able to see it yet, but with his enhanced senses he could hear it clear as day: the sound of a girl in the distance fighting the Grimm. She was losing._

 _He was running as fast as he could, hoping to get there before it was too late, but considering he was in his skates he was not having a good time. Luckily enough, he managed to make it to the clearing with the battle just in time to see the Beowolf swipe her weapon out of her hand. She could do nothing but cross her arms in front of her face, waiting for the inevitable._

 _It never came; Jaune had made it at just the last moment and blocked the strike with his shield. With a few more clumsy moves, the Beowolf had a sword in it's chest._

 _The Grimm flailed, trying to take this pestering human with them, but Jaune was able to jump on his back and ride it like a horse, using the bones on it's arms to steer it away from the still confused girl._

 _The Beowolf tried to swipe him off, but Jaune was able to jump off at the last second, making the Grimm slash it's own head. It finally collapsed, making the sword in it's chest impale itself further, before fumbling on it's back and finally laying still._

 _Feeling ecstatic, he ripped the sword out of the dead Grimm's chest before turning around and facing the girl. With black hair, pale skin, and cat ears on top of her head, she was a very attractive girl, but that wasn't what he was thinking about. He lowered his hand for her to take, and she did, letting him pull her up._

 _"Thanks", she said. Brief, but all that was needed. Jaune, wordlessly as always, nodded his head in response, before turning around and picking up the girl's weapon. During the one second that his back was to her, though, he heard the phrase that would haunt the rest of his life:_

 _"I'm sorry."_

 _Before he could do anything, he felt a rag on his mouth and nose. On instinct, he breathed in, which he realized immediately was a mistake as the familiar smell assaulted his sense._ _ **Chloroform.**_

 _He collapsed to the forest floor, with the last thing he saw before passing out being the girl pocketing the rag with a "no regrets" look on her face._

Jaune, back in the ballroom, came back to reality, looked at the girl in front of them and made the connection. He only had one thing on his mind: **Menagerie...**

With that thought alone, he screamed and started trying to pry his arm off of Yang's.

"LET GO! LET GO! PLEASE!"

Yang, still pulling him along, thought that he was just being dramatic and resumed her teasing. "Jeez, skater boy, meeting new people isn't that bad. It's actually fu-" she was cut off when Jaune got desperate enough to punch her in the jaw.

Not expecting the punch, Yang collapsed to the floor and took Ruby with her. Jaune only screamed a single "YOU STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" towards the girl in the corner before skating as fast as he could out of the room.

The girl, hearing the voice directed at her, looked up from her book with a bored expression. That is, until she saw who said that to her, at which point her expression became one of complete surprise, she dropped the book, and bolted out of the room.

Leaving a moaning Ruby, an angry at herself Yang, and a completely silent ballroom in her wake.

* * *

Contrary to popular belief, Nora Valkyrie was not mindless. While she was energetic, admittedly childish, and often didn't think things through, saying that she was stupid would be completely wrong. In fact, one of the things that she prided herself on was her ability to read people.

She was just as gifted as Ren was in that area, able to look at the subtle things in a person and learn a lot about them before they even opened their mouth. Having to hold a conversation with Ren over the years definitely helped in that department.

Which is why the blonde skater worried her.

At first, he seemed like the average skater boy, albeit with the skills to back up the confidence. Kicking the door down, while being freaking awesome in her eyes, only solidified that image. So when he opened his eyes for the first time after sitting down in the corner, she was surprised by what she saw.

Nothing but pain and regret. There was only a small amount of happiness that she could see.

Granted, the boy was doing a great job covering it up, what with the closing his eyes thing, plastering a fake smile on his face, and probably using his music to calm himself down, but she could see right through his ruse. This was a boy who had almost nothing left to live for.

And the reason why became pretty obvious when the busty blonde girl tried to hit on him.

Putting the pieces together wasn't hard: a hormonal teenage boy having a girl hitting on him (one that Nora would freely admit that she would date if she weren't straight) makes him freak out and try to hit her? There was only one place that she'd seen that kind of reaction before. It was from herself.

And knowing what that implied about the blonde boy's past made her want to cry.

It didn't help that she could notice the gallon of makeup used on his arms and neck. It smudged when the girl grabbed him, in a way that was almost undetectable, but with her detail-searching eyes she could clearly see what was underneath.

After all, burn marks aren't that easy to hide..

As if he could sense her emotions, Ren stirred from his sleep, absentmindedly hugging her left side as she leaned into the contact.

 **No, Nora. The past is the past. Accept that it happened and move on. Besides, would you have met Ren if it didn't happen?**

The thought made her smile; the fact that the darkest time of her life had led to the bestest friend she could have possibly asked for was not lost on her. She tightened the hold on Ren as she let the tears flow freely once more.

Her time in hell was over, and with her savior by her side she could finally move on. Hopefully the blonde could too.

* * *

 **You've gotta be shitting me! Of all the gambles Ozpin could make, her?! HER?!**

Maybe running as fast as possible away from someone who seemed completely harmless to anyone else wasn't a good impression, but Jaune knew her. She wasn't just some mysterious girl, this was a fucking White Fang assassin!

One that he knew for a fact had a personal vendetta against him, just like the others did.

 _"For the glory of Adam Taurus!"_

He ran as fast as he could for as long as he could before he realized that he didn't realize where he was going. Stopping, he found he was at the statue of his great-great-grandfather holding the sword he currently had in his locker. The same one he was trying to use to test his worth.

Of course he did what he always did whenever he passed the statue, out of reflex. Never mind that he was being chased.

He spit at the statue.

He wiped his mouth clean of the spit, before getting on one knee and looking at the statue with pure hatred. "I'll never be like you, you scumbag. You lied to the world about who you were and made people like me suffer. I swear I'll expose you for what you did if it kills me."

"You know, for you, that's really not something you should say."

A scream rang out, drawing the attention of a man in the tower, who, after realizing who was involved, decided to watch the conversation happening below.

Jaune regained his senses after the surprise words from the girl, who seemingly appeared out of thin air, and started backing away. He pulled out his scroll and pulled up Ozpin's contact, flashing the screen at the Faunus-in-hiding in front of him.

"Stay back! Come any closer and Ozpin is down here in seconds!" She froze in her spot. She knew that he was serious, and he had every right to be, but she wasn't getting found out just yet.

"Jaune, I'm not here to kill you. I have no reason to hurt you at all." She hoped he would believe her. She really did.

He didn't. "Why should I trust you?! I trusted you once and you put me through hell! Give me one good reason!"

"I saved your life, didn't I?"

She'd hoped that she wouldn't have to go there. It was a point that she didn't want to have to make. And the look of betrayal of all things on Jaune's face made it even worse.

"I wish you didn't."

This time, it was Blake's turn to be shocked. Jaune seemed to lose any bit on energy he had in him, falling to his knees. He even dropped his scroll on the ground, though luckily it didn't shatter. "Every night I have a nightmare about, well, everything." He gave a laugh, but the mirthlessness sent a chill up her spine. "Every day I have to look at my stomach and remember Adam. I can't even open my locker without getting flashbacks." He opened his scroll, scrolled through his pictures, and showed the face that had haunted Blake for a year and a half.

The face of the first human she'd tried to save, and failed.

"All my life will be is pain, suffering, and death. That's all it ever was. So tell me: did you really save me or did you condemn me?"

Silence. It was like all sound had completely disappeared from the world in that one moment. It was suffocating before Jaune got sick of waiting for that damned phrase.

 _"For the glory of Adam Taurus!"_

"Well? You gonna kill me or are you just gonna stand there?"

Despite her hesitation, Blake knew her answer. "I'm not gonna kill you, Jaune. I'm here to redeem myself."

Jaune looked up, hope clearly in his eyes. "Y-you're not? B-but-"

"I left the White Fang." That shut him up, which he took as a sign to continue. "I'm sure you won't believe me, but the White Fang started as a symbol of equality. Peaceful equality. But as the Faunus got more desperate, we got more violent. The move to Menagerie finally set them off, and there was a coup within the group. A man named Sienna Khan took charge, and he changed them from peaceful protesters to violent militants and Faunus supremacists. Those are the people you met. And those are the people I left."

Silence once again dominated the courtyard before Jaune stood back up, caution clear as day. "Do you regret it?"

Blake was shocked, something that seemed to be happening way more than it should. "I'll never regret leav-"

"No. I mean do you regret what happened to me."

That made much more sense, now that she thought about it. Her answer was immediate. "I regret every single second of it except for saving you." And Jaune finally relaxed.

Having calmed Jaune down, she considered her mission accomplished, turning around and walking back to the ballroom.

Ozpin smiled in the tower. Already, Jaune had managed to make two friends and convert an old enemy. It was already shaping up to be a good year.

 **Better than his other years, at least.**

* * *

Jaune, meanwhile, remained in the courtyard, simply standing there. Despite all of her words admittedly making him relax, he couldn't help but feel apprehension. He knew exactly what this feeling was. It was the feeling whenever _she_ appeared.

"Hey Jaune."

Her mere voice was all it took to make him melt on the inside to this day.

"Hey Kate"

He finally turned away from the statue, allowing to take in her appearance once more. The chest-length crimson hair, the black yoga pants with a hoodie just like his, the blue tennis shoes, the emerald eyes...

Exactly the same as when he last saw her.

She walked towards him, still smiling her radiant smile. "You're finally here. You made it to Beacon. Are you happy now?"

"Of course I'm happy. Isn't that what you wa-" he was interrupted by her slapping him.

"Why do you get to be happy? What makes you so special?

It didn't take a genius for him to realize what she was saying. He even knew the answer she wanted. He was not going to go down easy, however.

"Would you have saved me if you didn't get here?"

"It doesn't matter what would've happened. You're dead."

All it took was those two words and closed eyes, and by the time he opened them she had disappeared as though she never existed in the first place.

He knew that now was the time to continue his ritual. He did it every time she appeared: paying tribute to the people he killed.

He pulled out his sword and started on his right arm. His body healed the wounds before they could even appear, but he still felt the pain. A small sacrifice compared to what he made her lose.

The left arm. The back of the neck. Both of his theighs.

And for the main event, he lifted up his hoodie and plunged the entire blade into his own stomach.

Facing the pain. Accepting it. Enjoying it. All within the 10 seconds the sword was in his stomach before he pulled it out, ritual complete.

As usual, there was no blood even appearing on the blade; his wound was healed immediately after.

 **I seriously need some sleep. Even if I won't get any.**

With his mind completely fuzzy, and stomach still hurting from the impromptu surgery, he walked into the ballroom. With all of the first years focusing on him, it was a bit awkward (and he would admit it was scary).

Ruby and Yang, however, seemed to simply pretend he didn't exist, which frankly made him happier than he'd like to admit. Not that it was Yang's fault, but every time she opened her mouth around him it brought back memories.

 **Just for tonight guys. I'll talk to you again tomorrow.**

And with those final thoughts, he drifted into sleep to face the same nightmare he'd had every night for a year and a half.

* * *

 _*Crack* *Crack* *Crack* *Crack*_

 _Screams of pain accompany every crack of the whip, weakening him to the point of exhaustion. Pools of blood are gathering at his feet, next to the stains left over from the other times this happened over the past seven years._

 _"How dare you reject this! How dare you reject your calling?!"_

 _*Crack* A scream._

 _"You're supposed to be strong! You're supposed to be able to stand up for yourself!"_

 _*Crack* A scream._

 _"You're supposed to be willing to do what we do!"_

 _*Crack*_

 _The final scream is let out before he was unchained from the wall. Falling backwards, the world quickly morphs to an operating table. He is chained down, with his right arm on display._

 _He recognizes the space of course: it was "his room". Another word for his prison cell. An empty room, locked from the outside, with nothing but a single barred window overlooking the village and a mattress in the corner. And, for "special occasions", a table that he would be handcuffed to for, as they called it, "fun time"._

 _He knows what was about to happen, and yet could do nothing about it. He can only scream in pain as he feels his right arm burning as he feels the letter D burned to his skin._

 _The pain is over as soon as it begins, and when his reflexes tell him to roll to the side, he does. Right as a beowolf, a small cub, launches itself at him._

 _Today is a familiar one as well. The first day he'd been thrown into the forest and out of the village. "For your own sake", they said. He knew they wanted him dead; they didn't need to be so passive about it. However, today was also one of the few good days in his life. The day he met his first friend._

 _He scrambles to his feet, barely noting that he is wearing normal shoes, before a staff hits the cub in the head, killing it instantly._

 _He turns away from the anticlimactic fight, knowing who exactly he is about to thank, but instead he finds himself in his room, looking out his window. The sight is too familiar._

 _He sees the only friend he ever had, the only person he ever trusted, walking out the gate of the village, staff in hand and a smile on his face. Leaving him to his fate. He collapses backwards..._

 _Ending up on the operating table again. He braces himself for the crippling pain in his knees, the moment that solidifies his decision. And come it does; the most excruciating pain he's ever felt in his entire life. Wether it's ten seconds or ten years, he can't tell, but soon the pain is gone, and in it's place, he feels electricity coursing through his body, while having something powdery shoved down his throat._

 _This time, with anger obscuring his thoughts, he is able to break his bonds, shooting straight up to find himself back in his room. Seeing the video on the scroll on the table._

 _He had been abandoned. Again. And she didn't take him with her. He closes his eyes to cry, just like he does every time, but when he opens his eyes, he is grabbing the black haired girl's weapon._

 _"I'm sorry."_

 _The chloroform mask hits his face, and when it is pulled away, he is in his cell in Menagerie. It looks exactly the same as his old cell, the only difference being the person in front of him. The person he let die..._

 _"Hey. I'm Kate. What's your name?"_

 _Not knowing if she's trustworthy, he signs instead of talking. Luckily enough, she can understand him and doesn't question it._

 _"J-A-U-N-E. Jaune?" He nods. "Nice name."_

 _He goes to shake her hand, but in the second he looks down, the girl transforms into a deathstalker. A dead one, at that._

 _The familiar feeling of electricity flows through him and he falls to the floor. He's dragged out of the colosseum, cheering following him the whole way._

 _He passes several people in Grimm masks, with some even kicking him and calling him a freak, before he's thrown back in his cell._

 _In a single instant, Kate's pulling him back up to his feet and hugging him. It's their ritual now. Whenever one of them comes back, they hug. But she does something that throws a wrench in all of that._

 _She kisses him. Right on the mouth. It's not his first kiss by far, that title goes to whoever he was sold to first all those years ago, but it's the best one he ever had._

 _He closes his eyes, but when he opens them, he's standing in the middle of the street. Chaos is everywhere: the Grimm attack is at it's peak. Craters lay in the ground where the explosives had been shot, the buildings that haven't collapsed yet are on fire, dead Faunus lay everywhere, their screams still ringing in the air._

 _And it's their fault._

 _She yanks his hand, and he falls over. It takes him a second to realize he tripped over a log, and he's at the campsite, Kate crying in his arms. He tries to comfort her, just like he does every time, but, as fate commands, they are interrupted._

 _The red sword hits the tree next to him, and when he looks away, he sees a gun in his face and hears the other phrase that haunts him to this day._

 _"Me, damnit! Shoot me!"_

 _The cat-girl tries to interfere, but the shot goes right through her stomach. The flash allows the scene to change to Kate's final moments. He does the one thing he never did to anyone else._

 _"K-Kate." To others, his voice sounds awful. Fifteen years of inaction tends to do that. To Kate though, it's the greatest sound she ever heard._

 _"So you can talk." They laugh despite themselves. He braces himself for her last words, but they're not what they should be._

 _"Jaune." She never said his name. "Jaune." It's stronger now. It's also definitely not her voice. What's going on? "Jaune!" The last one, a shout more than anything else, finally takes him from the nightmare despite hearing one last phrase. A female voice speaks to him like an angel from the darkness._

 _"What are you doing here?"_

His instincts kicked in before he could stop them. Whoever was on top of him was thrown off violently, landing beside him. He straddled them and delivered one punch to the jaw before realizing who it was.

It was Ruby.


	3. Preparations

**A/N: Even if it's a day late, Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it, Happy Holidays if you celebrate anything else, and hope you enjoy! Reviews are much appreciated!**

* * *

It wasn't long before he was grabbed from behind and thrown across the room. He slammed into the back wall, getting into a crouched position to scan for threats.

That was before he realized why he'd been thrown in the first place. Ruby had been trying to wake him up, and he punched her for it.

He could see them both now, Ruby on the ground with her eyes watering and Yang standing in a guarding position, anger in her red eyes. Yet, despite the rage, she was clearly holding back, seeming to hold somewhat of an understanding of the situation.

For the third time in two days, they had the entire first year populace staring at them. Jaune was seriously getting sick of his reflexes: most of the time, they did nothing more than get in the way. How are you supposed to be a swordsman with the reflexes of a kick boxer?

Knowing he could do nothing else, he muttered a small "s-s-sorry" like he did to the kid that punched him and skated away. If he had stayed longer, he would've seen a black haired boy hugging a small crying ginger like his life depended on it.

He had a destination in mind: Team CFVY's dorm. He always went there in the mornings to freshen up, as well as simply chat with the team. Him and Velvet got along especially well, since they were the shyer ones of the group, but he never objected to any conversations with Coco and Fox, as well as chess games with Yatsu.

Today, however, was not a time for messing around. This was initiation day, and if he messed up, who knows what could happen to him.

 **Calm down, stupid brain. You're being paranoid again.**

In his paranoid and terrified state of mind, he failed to notice that he'd already made it to the dorm. He swiped his scroll (Ozpin had given him access to the room with Coco's permission) and walked into the room.

Velvet was the only one there; he assumed the others had gone to breakfast. The hug that she gave when he walked in was not unwelcome, and was returned immediately. The way the two acted often made people think they were dating, but they had simply been able to bond over their shared love of never talking about their pasts.

Any mention of the White Fang was immediately shut down by both of them, violently if necessary.

They pulled away so Velvet could pull him to her bed, both of them sitting on it. "Well, Jaune, how was your first day?"

Jaune could only groan as the memories of last night replayed in his head. "Not good. Not good at all."

"Really? What happened?"

"Well, it started off well enough. I ran into Ruby and got to know her a little better. But things got bad last night. See, Ruby has a sister, and... she tried to hit on me."

Velvet only nodded, remembering full well what happens when you hit on Jaune.

 _"So what's your name, cutie?"_

 _Her team and the new kid were sitting in their dorm room. Everyone doing their own thing, with Fox and Yatsu playing a chess game between their beds, the new guy simply standing in the middle of the room, while Coco and Velvet were gossiping. Gossiping was a guilty pleasure of hers, and with Coco as a leader she could never get enough._

 _She noticed how the blonde boy flinched at being called cutie, but simply dismissed it as being flustered. Coco tended to tease unsuspecting boys, leading to many times where seemingly confident "womanizers" turned into blushing stuttering messes. "My name's J-jaune. You're C-coco?"_

 _"That would be me. So, Ozpin wants us to get close to you. Any reason why?"_

 _Jaune very noticeably gulped. "N-no, I'm just not the b-best at making friends."_

 _Coco laughed. "Ah, so you're another socially awkward one? Well, don't worry. A few days with me and you'll be another gossiping socialite like Velv here." Coco grabbed her and gave her a noogie, something that felt surprisingly good for her ears._

 _A rumble echoed throughout the room as Yatsu and Fox both grabbed their stomachs, both of their faces turning a bright red. "Well, I say we get lunch first before we torture the kid."_

 _Wrong choice of words._

 _He tackled Fox off of his bed before anyone could react. Just as quickly, Fox had a sword held at his throat with the terrified Jaune cowering behind him. The fact that he was fast enough to get all of them off guard scared them to say the least._

 _Luckily, despite having a sword at his throat, Fox was still fast enough to realize what freaked Jaune out so much. "Dude, when I said torture, I didn't actually mean it. It was sarcasm."_

 _Jaune noticeably relaxed, but didn't let go of the sword. "S-sarcasm?" Velvet noticed that the way he said it sounded like he'd never said it before. "W-what does that m-mean?"_

 _Coco gave out a laugh that sounded more like a bird screeching when he said that. "Dude, how do you not know what sarcasm is?" Her laughter ended when Jaune gave her a glare that truly personified "if looks could kill". "Alright, jeez. It's when you say something you don't really mean."_

 _Jaune finally let his sword fall, letting the oddly calm Fox and Yatsu walk out of the room with no words needed, but he kept his glare. "So, like a lie?"_

 _Velvet took the initiative this time. "In a sense, but sarcasm is mostly for humor, not to tell a lie. He was making a joke about Coco's... methods of interaction."_

 _He was clearly still confused, but he decided to drop it. He sheathed his sword and opened the door."I t-think I understand. C-can we go to lunch, n-now?"_

 _Jaune's first mistake was turning towards the door and showing his back to Coco. His second was having a stutter that Coco found absolutely adorable. His third was waiting at the door like gentleman, holding the door open for them._

 _It was all too much for Coco to resist, and as they walked into the hallway, she took her chance. "Wow, for someone so awkward, you really are a gentleman aren't you?" And she spanked him._

 _The amount of pure killing intent that radiated in the hallway in that single instance was enough to make Velvet retreat right back into the room, only poking her head out to see what had happened._

 _For the second time in around 45 seconds, Jaune had taken a hostage. Instead of using his sword though, he had pinned Coco to the wall by her neck with one of his skates. The wheels were pressed against her neck, and with her feet stuck off the ground, she had no leverage to try to fight back._

The awkwardness that followed made Jaune explain why he always reacted so strongly to sarcasm and flirting, as well as why Ozpin wanted them to get close. Needless to say, him and Velvet had hugged for about six hours after that, and even Coco knew not to do anything like take pictures for blackmail.

"On top of that, I thought I recognized someone in the ballroom, so I screamed at them and ran out and everyone saw it and now they think I'm a coward-"

"Jaune." It was pretty easy to see when he was going into one of his terrified rants, where he would:

A.) Assume the worst in people,

B.) Assume that people assumed the worst in him,

And C.) Go into the bathroom to cut himself.

They had learned quickly that trying to stop the third thing was not gonna work, no matter how hard they tried. Not even Weiss could stop him.

"They might think you're a little bit weird, but everyone's weird in some way or another. Besides, since when have you cared about opinions from people you don't know?"

That was true. Jaune, when he wasn't terrified out of his mind, had a very strong "fuck the world" mentality. After all, what had the world done for him that made it worthy of his attention?

"You're not wrong, but there's a big difference between people I don't know and people I might be stuck with for four years."

"Well, if they don't like you, that's their issue. Besides, if your team is undesirable, CFVY is always here for you, no matter what."

It was the same words she had used to comfort him every time he got nervous about this, but it always worked. It was always more of a reminder than anything else, but it was one that he needed. Simply knowing that people will actually stand by him was enough.

He nodded his thanks, knowing that he couldn't word how grateful he was.

"So how did the makeup work?"

That reminded him why he came in here in the first place. He took the makeup container out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Worked like a charm. My scars were invisible."

Velvet took the makeup and walked over to her dresser, pulling his clothes out of the top drawer and throwing them to him. "The bathrooms open. You can wipe it off there."

"Thanks Velv. I'll be quick."

Wiping the makeup off his arms was routine, as was getting his pants past his skates, and before he knew it he was dressed and ready to go. Luckily, he didn't wear any armor, so that eliminated a lot of time.

Velvet had given him a check: his bracers were in the right place and his beanie didn't look out of the ordinary. There was nothing that they could do about his scent except hope that no one was a Faunus: the burns would definitely draw unwanted attention.

As far as he knew, the black haired girl ( **How the fuck did I forget to get her name?** ) had no intention of outing either of them, so he felt safe enough, but there were still too many unknowns for his liking.

Velvet could clearly see his discomfort, but could also see that he didn't want to talk anymore. It wasn't that he was too prideful (the exact opposite actually), it was that he was too afraid to take anything she said seriously.

That's not even mentioning the way his stomach was growling. He desperately needed breakfast.

Since his pep talk with Velvet had brought his spirits back up again, he was back in his usual routine of gliding through the halls instead of collapsing in on himself. Everyone he passed gave him an enthusiastic wave when they recognized him, which he returned with childlike glee in his eyes.

Being in his element was a feeling that had no equal. Skating had absolutely become his favorite thing over the past year once he could do it for fun. The feel of the wind blowing past his face, the adrenaline when he messed up and had to correct it, everything about it was amazing.

Of course, just like every other time, it was over too quickly with how fast he made it into the dining hall.

* * *

If Nora hadn't been concerned for the blonde, she definitely was today.

Some would call this obsession, but it truthfully was nothing more than sad concern. Of course, you wouldn't be able to tell with how energetic she was. "Ren, maybe there's someone else like me!"

"Nora, that's not something to get excited about."

Nora jabbed a finger in Ren's face, anger in her eyes. "I know that, Ren!" And just like that, the radiant smile was back on her face. "But think about it! I haven't seen another one in ages, Renny! Oh, there he is!"

True to her word, the boy was walking in the dining hall, headphones in his ears and a smile on his face. They both watched as he skated over to the line (cutting in front of all the upperclassmen, though they didn't seem to question it) and was handed a plate and a cup by the chef. The plate had three pancakes on it with a massive amount of syrup, while the cup was filled with coffee based on the steam.

The boy and the chef talked for a little while, unheard by both of them, before the boy nodded his thanks and skated away. He made it around 50 feet before someone blocked his path and flipped the cup.

Coffee spilled all over him, while the assailant merely laughed and sat back down, being high-fived by three other boys. The upperclassmen were all laughing too, which made both of them angry, before Nora read one of their lips.

 _"Does he really think he'll get away with that?"_

Realization:

 **They're laughing at the assailant.**

After seeing that, she snapped her eyes back to the boy, who simply stood there with coffee pouring down himself, not moving a muscle, before he said, loudly enough for everyone to hear, "I guess I'm not that hungry."

With the attention of the entire dining hall, he walked over to the bully's table and stood on it. All four of the people sitting there were shocked, but the upperclassmen seemed to treat it like it was an everyday thing. He held the cup of what used to be coffee in front of him. "You know, if you're gonna be an ass, at the very least be good at it."

He tipped the cup over himself, managing to spill even more coffee on himself, before putting the cup down and showing off the plate of pancakes. "I know that whenever I want to be an asshole, I'm efficient. That's what makes me better. You managed to not spill everything on me, but me?" He threw the plate on the other boy's head.

The plate shattered on impact with the boy's skull, causing pain, but what really perfected the moment was the pancakes. The syrup had clearly had time to sit, making the soggy pancakes completely fall apart the moment they made contact. The bully was now covered in chunks of pancake, with syrup running down his head. He looked absolutely disgusted.

"If you're gonna be a dick, get better."

With that final piece said, he jumped from the table and skated from the room.

The first years all looked surprised by everything that had just gone down, but the older kids seemed to shrug it off like nothing had even happened. There was only one conclusion Nora could draw.

 **He must have been here for a while if they're used to this.**

Nora wouldn't have been surprised at all to hear that he had grown up inside Beacon. With an eccentric man like Ozpin as Headmaster, anything could happen, including a kid being raised inside a Huntsman training academy. She turned to Ren to try to tell him her theory, but froze when she saw his face.

Ren looked terrified.

He was never a person to let any emotion show, but she'd long since learned the subtle things to look for. This time, though, he'd given up all attempts to stay stoic. He looked pale as a sheet, sweat pouring from his forehead, breathing heavily. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought he was having a panic attack. All the while, he was mumbling the same thing over and over:

"Red eyes, red eyes, red eyes..."

* * *

 _"Dude, that was awesome! The look on his face was absolutely priceless!"_ Coco's familiar laughing voice rang through his scroll. His little stunt in the dining hall had been recorded by none other than the fashionista herself, quickly spread through the academy to anyone who wasn't there. He'd already gotten around 16 texts from other students, so all in all today was going pretty great.

And based on the way his scroll got a message that wasn't from a Beacon student, it would only get better.

 _"Hey dude. Ash was sick today, but we managed to get the song done anyway. Did you know Mikey could drum?"_

Jaune could only smile. These four never ceased to make him laugh. It was one of the reasons he actually trusted them.

 _"Was it not obvious? He never shuts up about how better Ash could be. It's constant."_

 _"You guys know I'm in this chat too, right?"_

 _"Shut it, Mike. Jaune's right and you know it."_

 _"HIS TECHNIQUE IS AWFUL, CALUM!"_

 _"Yet here I am, still the drummer while you're playing guitar. Suck on that."_

He had to turn off his messages then, but that short talk had it's effect. He already felt ridiculously happier then he did that morning.

And that was before he played the song. He thanked whatever god existed whenever someone managed to actually managed their recording studios without him. It gave him a break, and a new song. If only people would actually pay attention when he told them how to record their songs.

He extended his headphones from their collapsed form, connected them to his scroll, and listened to the song. Hearing the correct guitar intro filled him with confidence, and he wasn't let down.

 _5 Seconds of Summer: Lost boy_

 _I can't remember the last time I saw your face_

 _I feel so lonely when I'm in a crowded space_

 _You left me without direction_

 _'Cause I've gone from place to place trying to bring you back_

 _I've walked for days and days cause I can't face the fact_

 _That nothing is better than you_

 _I'm coming because I need to find you_

 _Is anybody there who can rescue_

 _Somebody like me 'cos I'm just waiting_

 _For somebody like you, somebody like you_

 _Without you I'm a lost boy_

 _Without you I'm a lost boy_

 _Come find me I'm a lost boy_

 _'Cause without you I'm a lost boy_

He'd entered the locker room by this point, and saw Ruby and Yang talking before they looked at him. Yang walked over to him, but he couldn't be interrupted now. He held up his hand to stop her in her tracks.

"Not your fault, new 5sos song, can't talk."

He skated away, not seeing the plethora of emotions that crossed Yang's face, though it was mostly anger. He also didn't notice the way two of the students saw him coming and avoided him like the plague.

 _I can't remember the last time I heard your voice_

 _I'm sat in silence, living in a world of noise_

 _'Cause you were perfection_

 _'Cause I've been from place to place trying to bring you back_

 _I've walked for days and days 'cause I can't face the fact_

 _That nothing is better than you_

He finally made it to his locker, opening it up for his weapons. He gave his sword a long look like usual, then grabbed it and hooked it onto his pants. He also couldn't help but look at the two pictures on his door, showing the two people from his life he actually cared about. Both drawn from scratch since he didn't actually have any pictures of them, but he couldn't even tell the difference.

 _I'm coming because I need to find you_

 _Is anybody there who can rescue_

 _Somebody like me 'cos I'm just waiting_

 _For somebody like you, somebody like you_

 _Without you I'm a lost boy_

 _Without you I'm a lost boy_

 _Come find me I'm a lost boy_

 _'Cause without you I'm a lost boy_

He backed away from his locker, ready to head to the cliffs, but that journey came to an abrupt end when he immediately ran into someone's backside.

While the other person managed to stay standing, Jaune fell like a sack of potatoes right onto his ass. His headphones came unplugged, pausing the song, and he was about to apologize when he looked at the person he ran into.

Red hair, green eyes, the familiar beautiful smile...

 **Kate?**

She looked just like his nightmare.

He was too stunned to do anything more than sit there, looking at her with a hope in his eyes that probably looked more than a little creepy. Only hearing her say "Sorry!" made him realize that not only was Kate not there, but he was still staring. He stood back up, the skates not hindering him.

"D-don't apologize. It was m-my fault." He started to skate away, but someone grabbed his arm. If it were anyone else, he would've snapped their wrist, but he recognized that small but firm grip anywhere.

"That's all you have to say? Do you realize who you're talking to?" The shrill voice of Weiss Schnee made him smile, even if it didn't make sense to anyone else. He turned to look her in the eyes, noting with amusement that she'd styled her hair to hide her scar. It was always a point of shame for her, something he could definitely understand.

Simply looking at Weiss was enough to give him enough confidence to talk without stuttering. "Not in the slightest, snow angel." She hated that nickname. He loved the way her face scrunched up in annoyance.

"This is Pyrrha Nikos", she said, gesturing to the girl he presumed was Pyrrha. She merely smiled and waved, but literally anyone with a brain could see how forced it was.

"Nice to meet you, Pyrrha. I'm Jaune." He held his hand out towards her. She shook it, her smile slowly starting to become more genuine.

"Likewise."

Jaune could see Weiss's face get redder and redder the angrier she acted. "She graduated top of her class at Sanctum."

"That'd be cool if I knew what Sanctum was."

"She won the Mistral Regional Tournament four times in a row! A new record!"

"Again, sounds cool, but I don't know what that is."

Now, Jaune would swear that steam was coming out of her ears. "She's on the cover of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmellow Flakes box!"

Jaune scoffed. "Diabetes in a box."

Weiss scoffed right back at him. "So you're saying that after all of that, you still think you're worthy of being her partner or friend?"

Letting his goofy side out for a change, he got on his knees in front of Pyrrha and started bowing. "I am not worthy of you, my Queen! I beg of you, on hands and knees, to find it in your humble heart to forgive this lowly peasant for believing himself worthy of your majestic presence!"

Pyrrha couldn't control herself any longer, and let out a giggle that sounded truly angelic. What was even better was she went along with it. "O peasant, stand up. You have been forgiven for your error, but I advise you to prevent this from occurring again. I may not be as forgiving."

Jaune looked up and made eye contact with her, which was all he could do before they both started laughing. He managed to stand up despite his stomach hurting so much he was bent over, and looked back to Weiss, who looked nothing more than flabbergasted.

"Grimm don't care if you're royalty or homeless. You're just as screwed." He started walking away, but smiled back at Pyrrha. "It was nice to meet you Pyrrha!" She waved back, and he could see that the smile on her face had become genuine. **A celebrity that doesn't like her fame. That's new.**

He plugged his headphones back in, finishing the song based on the Ice Queen he'd laughed at not ten seconds ago.

 _Come find me (x16)_

 _Without you I'm a lost boy_

 _Without you I'm a lost boy_

 _Come find me I'm a lost boy_

 _'Cause without you I'm a lost boy_

 _I'm coming because I need to find you_

 _Is anybody there who can rescue_

 _Somebody like me 'cos I'm just waiting_

 _For somebody like you, somebody like you_

 _'Cause without you I'm a lost boy_

 **Weiss, where would I be without you?**

Knowing that he needed time alone with her, he texted Glynda on his way.

 _"I need you to postpone initiation."_

Her response was instant and unquestioning. _"How long?"_

 _"Five minutes max. It's just another song."_

Immediately, Glynda's voice rang through the building. _"Students, due to an unforeseen circumstance, initiation will be briefly postponed. Use this extra time wisely and be ready to report to the cliffs."_

 _"Thanks Glynda."_ He also sent a text to Weiss. _"That was me. Meet me at the cliffs."_

 _"See you there, Jaune."_

Due to his high speed, he'd already gone most of the distance to the cliffs. The sight of Ozpin standing there with the mug of coffee that seemed glued to his hand most of the time was certainly a sight for sore eyes. Unfortunately, he had something to say.

"Hey Oz!" He turned around, giving Jaune his full attention. "What the hell were you thinking with that White Fang assassin?!"

Ozpin was not surprised that this was the first thing he was asked. "Everyone deserves a second chance, Jaune. She showed that she wanted to redeem herself for her actions. Her reaction when I mentioned the Fall of Menagerie showed just as much. Believe me when I say that if she ever steps over the line, I'll handle it."

Jaune sighed, not happy with the answer but knowing he wasn't going to hear anything else. "Fine. But if she ever shows even a hint of betrayal, I'm getting her head on a plate." Ozpin wasn't even fazed by the brutal threat. He'd heard much worse from him and others. "But first, wanna record a song?"

The transformation was incredible. Just a few seconds ago, Jaune looked like a villain plotting world domination, and now he was practically bouncing up and down with his hands in front of his face, a childlike innocence you'd never expect from him emanating straight out of his wide eyes.

Weiss's voice from behind him snapped him out of it. "Why am I not surprised that's why you called me out here?"

Jaune turned around, stars in his eyes, before rocketing forward and crushing Weiss in a hug. She was too used to this to let it catch her off guard, though, and returned the hug with equal strength.

"Jeez Jaune, missed you too. Now can you stop choking me?" She could feel the breath slowly but surely leaving her body, only showing the strength of Jaune's hugs. He laughed before pulling away, letting them lock eyes, before he hugged her again, much gentler this time around.

"It's good to see you again, Weiss."

The scene was heartwarming to Ozpin. There were few people that made Jaune smile, so seeing such a genuine smile on his face always made him happier. However, there was an initiation to have, so he cleared his throat to get their attention. "I believe there was a song you wanted to record?"

Jaune snapped back around, realization coating his face. "Oh, yeah! I've been wondering for a while what 'Welcome to my Life' would sound like with just acoustic, so I kinda need you guys to be my backup?" The end was posed as a question, clearly asking them rather than telling them.

Ozpin chuckled, nodding his agreement. He could see Weiss nodding as well, making Jaune's smile threaten to break his jaw off with how big it was.

This was something they'd done multiple times, so no words needed to be said as they took their places on the cliff side, Ozpin sitting to Jaune's right and Weiss to his left. He didn't even need to ask for sheet music, since Jaune had already unfolded it from his pocket and handed it off; Weiss was experienced enough to figure out what he wanted on instinct.

Jaune pulled out his scroll and opened the app he used to record music. With the guitar prerecorded, he timed his entrance and started singing.

 _Simple Plan: Welcome to my Life (Acoustic)_

Jaune:

 _Do you ever feel like breaking down?_

 _Do you ever feel out of place,_

 _Like somehow you just don't belong_

 _And no one understands you?_

 _Do you ever wanna run away?_

 _Do you lock yourself in your room_

 _With the radio on turned up so loud_

 _That no one hears you're screaming?_

Jaune + Weiss:

 _No, you don't know what it's like_

 _When nothing feels all right_

 _You don't know what it's like_

 _To be like me_

Jaune + Ozpin:

 _To be hurt_

 _To feel lost_

 _To be left out in the dark_

 _To be kicked when you're down_

 _To feel like you've been pushed around_

 _To be on the edge of breaking down_

 _And no one's there to save you_

 _No, you don't know what it's like_

 _Welcome to my life_

 _Do you wanna be somebody else?_

 _Are you sick of feeling so left out?_

 _Are you desperate to find something more_

 _Before your life is over?_

 _Are you stuck inside a world you hate?_

 _Are you sick of everyone around?_

 _With their big fake smiles and stupid lies_

 _While deep inside you're bleeding_

Jaune + Weiss

 _No, you don't know what it's like_

 _When nothing feels all right_

 _You don't know what it's like_

 _To be like me_

All three:

 _To be hurt_

 _To feel lost_

 _To be left out in the dark_

 _To be kicked when you're down_

 _To feel like you've been pushed around_

 _To be on the edge of breaking down_

 _And no one's there to save you_

 _No you don't know what it's like_

 _Welcome to my life_

Jaune + Weiss

 _No one ever lied straight to your face_

 _And no one ever stabbed you in the back_

 _You might think I'm happy but I'm not gonna be okay_

 _Everybody always gave you what you wanted_

 _You never had to work it was always there_

 _You don't know what it's like, what it's like_

Jaune:

 _To be hurt_

 _To feel lost_

 _To be left out in the dark_

 _To be kicked when you're down_

 _To feel like you've been pushed around_

Jaune + Weiss

 _To be on the edge of breaking down_

 _And no one's there to save you_

 _No, you don't know what it's like (What it's like)_

All three:

 _To be hurt_

 _To feel lost_

 _To be left out in the dark_

 _To be kicked when you're down_

 _To feel like you've been pushed around_

 _To be on the edge of breaking down_

 _And no one's there to save you_

 _No, you don't know what it's like_

 _Welcome to my life_

 _Welcome to my life_

 _Welcome to my life_

Glynda watched the whole song being sung, and she could safely say it was one of the nicest moments she'd ever seen. Seeing Ozpin in such a position, singing a song with two of his students, was a rare sight that truly melted her heart. Most people considered Ozpin to be larger than life, so seeing something like this was one of the few moments that humanized him.

It was rare to see the strict disciplinarian give such a genuine smile, and yet there it was.

Unfortunately, she'd only given him five minutes, and she'd already had to send the message to the other initiates to come to the cliffs. They were running out of time.

"As heartwarming as this scene is," she said to gain their attention, "we have to have our initiation today. I'd advise you to split up if you wish the others to not see this."

They all nodded and stood up to walk to their stations. Jaune wasn't gonna let that happen just yet, though, as he wrapped the two of them in side hugs at the same time. He was quick this time, only hugging for a couple seconds, before he let them go and walked to his own plate.

Just in time for the other initiates to become visable in the distance, ready to begin their four year adventure at Beacon


	4. Updates

**Hey guys. Just wanted to give an update on my stories. When I first started writing, I didn't really come up with a schedule: I just updated whenever I finished a chapter. Unfortunately, with high school, writers block, and general laziness, I don't write a whole lot. So, I have a plan that will hopefully leave most of you happy. I'm going to only focus on my stories RWBY Knight and A Grimm Tale. I've gotten more positivity from people on those stories than anywhere else, and people are really anxious about them, so I'm gonna write thm before I think about others. I'm sorry if people are disappointed, but that's the plan for now. Thanks for all the support, as well as your time.**


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